John Doe & The Sadies- Country Club

Country music is an interesting beast.  On one part you have traditionalists who will fight to the death to preserve the honor of Johnny Paycheck and George Jones.  Then you have the modern school of thought that embraces "pop" elements ( which has probably deeper roots in country music than most people want to admit, Jimmie Rodgers played pop songs of the day).   You also have a distinct history and lineage that is traceable and honored, ( Similar to Heavy Metal and Hip Hop).  So keeping that in mind we have the singer of one the greatest bands to ever walk out of Los Angeles ( Mr. Doe) being backed by one of the best bands to walk out of Canada, (only The Band, Rush, and the eternal 14 year old in me thinks Anvil are better).  Instead of a synthesis of new music, which would be almost too good to be true, these minstrels lay their hands on the past.  

The results are pretty stunning.  The Sadies are amazing musicians and their method of attack is sublime.  Every song sways with balance and nuance.   Mr. Doe's voice is as familiar as the catalog they play, ( there are no real surprises in the choices ).  The presentation of the art overrides any lack of meaning that might be inherent in a group of cover songs.   Both artists create subtle waves of sound and I know this album wouldn't be out of place the next time I go into the Ernest Tubb Record Store in the Stockyards of Fort Worth.

Arbouretum- Songs of the Pearl

I will start this review by saying I like progressive rock.  I will also say I like grindcore and opera if that helps, but the opening declaration is the more important then the second.   I will also state I am recovering from knee surgery and have been takings prescription pain killers, so this album has been played a lot in my hydrocodone dazes.

Thrill Jockey and Drag City always seemed like the "smart wing" of Touch and Go Records to me,( Sort of like how Acura is to Honda, or Ferrari is to Fiat ).  I have had some success with these labels in the past but I have had to overcome my love of Kiss, explosions, and Hammond organ solos from Jon Lord, and these anchors have made it hard for sometimes to "get" the two labels.

Maybe I am getting older but this new album is fascinating to me.  The opening track False Spring reminds me of the "Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald".  I am pretty sure that wasn't the intent but the song taps into archetypal themes while sounding completely current within an older "folk" element.  I hear hints of British Psyche, Folk-Prog, Americana ( which has its roots in the British Isles as well) and modern Indie rock.  Thankfully the last one is the least occuring ( or re-occuring if you will ).  The band has unique senses of dynamics and the quiet parts of the album are just as moving the louder parts.  A lurking impressionistic aura clouds the music in deeper mystery but not necessarily deeper meaning.  The vocals are treated on some songs and regulate the words into a more instrumental role that add to the overall ambience of the record and give meaning more for how they are said then what is said.  ( Sort of like Slayer, but this sounds nothing like that crew ).  There is also a Dylan cover on here and the record was recorded at Lord Baltimore studios, so I think my prog/psyche/folk feelings aren't me being paranoid.  ( I think these guys should do a cover of Sir Lord Baltimore's first album like Pussy Galore did with Exile on Main Street ).

Finding albums that honor and challenge tradition at the same time are always dear to me and this album does both.  Please get two copies.

Southeast Engine "From the Forest to the Sea"

Southeast Engine hail from midwest and their music hails from a deeper field.  Upon first listens the use of piano and organ indicate that this isn't your usual "Hey lets smoke/drink and pretend we are doing Basement Tapes covers".  There is also a strong religious under current to the music, but more of a seasonal approach than a holier than thou angle.  When one spends time in the midwest one has a better appreciations of time, seasons, death and life.  There seems to be a shorter amount of time to make things happen when one lives there, but the midwest has a tendency to not change either despite the constant seasonal changes.  Their are superficial changes as humans progress but the basic core roots of good and evil, and the harvest never leave you if you come from the central part of the United States or spend any amount of time there.

The album opens with a three piece suite called The Forest, which sets the tone for the album.  Plaintitive vocals tell tales of the bible, and the people who react to them.  The only part of the first side that doesn't do much (personally) is the last song "Black Gold", lyrically it is great but it falls into a rousing indie rock approach that harkens to the Twin Tone era.  It isn't a bad song but seems like an earlier song in that they wrote.  There is a gentle pain that guides this album that gives it the sensation of being there when you need it.  This isn't Saturday night music but is definitely Sunday morning "skipping church" music and I look forward to their growth.

Beware- Bonnie Prince Billy

I have had a love/hate relationship for years with Will Oldham.  Part of me has never liked the rustic mumblings of his early work as Palace, but part of me kept trying to figure out what he was saying.  This new album under his current working project of Bonnie Prince Billy has been labeled a country rock/outlaw country album and I think that is more misleading.  If you wanted to hang a label on this I would say it  has more of a Bakersfield sound than anything else.  Will has lined some of Chicago's finest jazz musicians to create a musically challenging backdrop to his beat poet/country hybrid.   The lyrics volley back and forth between traditional country fare and his odd ball philosophical entrapments that make his best work so captivating.

I am not quite sure what the next step in Bonnie Prince Billy's journey is but I am more than willing to follow.

Twin Infinities

Drag City just re-issued this amazing record and I cannot thank them enough.  For some reason when all of the noise-heads of the world talk about influences and try to "out cool" themselves this album never seems to be mentioned.  It reminds me of early Kraftwerk jamming with Keith Richards in a botched attempt to remake Exile on Main Street.  None of it makes sense yet it makes more sense than anything recorded.  To me it is the Trout Mask Replica of the 90's in the sense that it takes a heavily established idiom and mutates it beyond the realms of any rational logic.  They went on to refine their sound yet still create some of the dirtiest funk noise rock but this is still the mountain that casts a never ending shadow across the wastelands of modern music.